Arizona Wildcats fans can breathe a sigh of relief after center Chase Jeter appears to have avoided serious injury during the opening minutes of the UA's game against Oregon State on Saturday at McKale Center.
Jeter suffered back spasms after taking a hard fall in the first half, but did not suffer a significant injury, UA coach Sean Miller said.
Jeter was undercut by Beavers forward Tres Tinkle while vying for position under the basket in the first half. When Dylan Smith's layup attempt fell in, Arizona's co-captain grabbed the rim and fell about 10 feet to the floor. Jeter landed directly on his back, unable to brace for the fall. He was immediately attended to by head athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie, and Jeter walked to the locker room on his own power.
Arizona center Chase Jeter rolls on the floor in pain after getting undercut on rebound attempt against the Oregon State Beavers in the first half of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019.
Jeter struggled as a sophomore at Duke in 2016-17 in part because of a disk injury. He returned to the bench in the second half Saturday but did not play after UA said he was questionable to return.
Miller said after the Wildcats' 82-71 win over the Beavers that Jeter would probably be OK but that he wasn't certain yet if he'd be available on Thursday at USC.
Sean Miller is “hopeful” Chase Jeter (back) will return next week against USC and UCLA. “We’ll know over the next few days.” pic.twitter.com/StticgnI9Z
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) January 20, 2019
"We don’t look at it as significant, meaning a disc or anything like that," Miller said. "He fell, his back went into spasms, which happens a lot of times on a big guy like that. But I think he was starting to feel a little bit better late in the game.
"We're hoping we can get him back for our next game but we’re not there yet."
VIDEO: Slow mo of Chase Jeter taking a hard fall. Looks like he landed directly on his back. pic.twitter.com/4MmbfJ5aLJ
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) January 20, 2019
Arizona had a 10-3 lead with 15:48 left to play when Jeter left the floor. After returning to the bench in the second half, he appeared to sit down gingerly after standing up.
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